Grammar? We don't need no stinking grammar!

Here’s a direct mail pro-tip: once you’ve finished writing the Greatest Fundraising Letter Ever, read it aloud to yourself.

Does it sound choppy?  Are your sentences short?  Are you starting sentences with conjunctions, repeating yourself, breaking sentences between pages, and leaving all those annoying commas out of the mix?

No?

I hate to break it to you, but if that’s the case, you might want to toss that first draft in the circular file and start again.

Read More

Financial Restrictions and "The Overhead Myth"

Did you know that 75% of all U.S. foundation grant making is restricted?

This is because many wealthy donors restrict their contributions from being used to cover "indirect costs," preferring that their gift is put directly toward the funding of a project.

The "indirect costs" of a non-profit organization can include anything from paying salaries to training staff to maintenancing buildings and equipment.  These are the overhead costs that come with operating any organization.

Read More

Engage has everyone talking.

There are many advantages of using Engage for caging and program fulfillment. 
Engage’s suite of services enable small organizations to focus more on program outreach to citizens.  Engage manages and accounts for the processing of petitions and surveys, providing its clients digital copies with a list of signers.  Because of this, I am personally able to deliver thousands of petitions signed by the American people to members of Congress.
Without Engage, the cost of program fulfillment for small organizations might otherwise be prohibitive.
                                                                                                    — Rosalie J. Wyatt, Director, Decide America